Home Services reviews in Tempe, Arizona

We'd previously used the professionals at Creative Environments to do some tile work at our former home so did not hesitate to contact them again for more extensive work when we recently moved. Our vision was completed with guidance from our project designer Jeremy was consistently available and flexible. Our design was captured well on paper and transformed beautifully to the finished landscaping, carried out by a team of dedicated workmen over the course of two weeks as promised. It will be an ideal place for outdoor entertaining once we're able to do so; in the meantime, it's a great relaxion spot for expanding our social isolation living space

Creative Environments did our original pool and landscape design when we built our home 5 years ago. The design is great and they have always stood behind their work as we have tweaked and made updates/additional improvements over the years. They have always made sure that we were happy with the end result of any project!

Very unprofessional. Creative Environments doesn’t properly secure equipment or junk in their vehicles. An entire garbage can full of leaves and debris rolled right off of their (speeding) truck on the highway. Huge piles of plant debris were sitting on the truck unsecured, flying into cars. Huge safety risk.

The bottom line is that dealing with Creative Environments has been an abysmal customer experience. We decided to step back and not do a review, but it has now come time to express our sincere disappointment since no one from Creative Environments has taken the time to resolve our situation. When a customer is dissatisfied because of the lack of communication and months and months of zero contact regarding a project that started with many mistakes, a vendor would likely attempt to resolve the matter professionally. But instead, they charge insulting fees to fix their errors.

Furthermore, our project was supposed to take four months to complete a small patio, but here we are, 1.5 years later, because they don't take a moment to understand their customer's concerns. They ignore emails, and subsequently, everything snowballs to the point that they are in breach of contract.

The entire experience has been disappointing, so we must now consult with an Attorney to address the situation.

Jason Secrist's customer service is next level! He is really good at focusing on what customers need and require.

In addition, Jason is very knowledgeable, in general --outside of the scope of his role - which is helpful in problem solving. He has given us really good advice and has gone above and beyond his responsibility to help. We trust him on all matters.

For example, the first day we met, Jason removed a rattle snake from our courtyard. In addition, Jason figured out the leak in our irrigation system and was also able to pinpoint the cause of the leak in our spa, which was missed by California Pools. Furthermore, when we had an issue with the travertine installation, Jason reworked his schedule to come over immediately and provide a solution. He also ensured that the pallets and debris were removed from our yard before Christmas.

Overall we have had a very good experience with Creative Environments, largely in part because of Jason!

This company is a pain. You have to call them several times before they come to correct their defects. More than that, after they send someone to check the problem, they send another one, and another one. So instead of correcting their defects, they keep checking on them again and again. Besides, they show up at their convenience without making an appointment with a house owner. They take months to do the job that could be done within a week. Too much headache with Creative Environments. I could recommend this company only to my enemies.

Was super excited to get both front and backyard done. I’ve paid almost 300k to be jacked around. Made little to no progress and have no schedule or idea of when the guys will be back to finish the project. I’ve had a pile of material in front of my neighbors house for over 2 weeks. Have not seen workers at my place in over 5 days

Jeremy was our rep and he really went above and beyond to ensure the project was exactly what we wanted. He was great and was very helpful with which plants to pick and the whole design process. I would highly recommend working with Jeremy if you have the chance.

I am extremely impressed with the support we've received from this company. Kiley and the rest of team have played a crucial role in helping our business thrive. Their expertise and commitment to our success have made a real difference. I highly recommend them to any business looking for a trusted partner!

We were told this company had a partnership with our home builder (Toll Brothers) and because of that, they could have our backyard done prior to closing. They were definitely on the expensive side but we thought it was worth it so we could get our yard done before we moved in to avoid any disruptions due to the fact that I work from home.

We closed on our house 10/7 and they are still not complete (1/5/22 today). We did not get a pool, we did not get any fancy water features. We got a gas fire pit and and outdoor kitchen. They repeatedly made mistakes when it came to getting permits and failed multiple inspections which caused delays. They have been unable to manage any expectations and they take no ownership of their process. Everything is somebody else's fault.

I would not recommend this company to anyone, you can get any and all of these services elsewhere for much less with the same quality. If our backyard was immaculate and absolutely stunning I could forgive the tardiness because they are working towards perfection, but that just isn't the case. The backyard looks fine, but it is not worth what we paid. Do yourself a favor and shop around.

Because most reviews are connected with an emotional experience, I thought it was important to write this review strictly based on a chronological list of facts/occurrences.

Contract/Billing Details
Initial conversations, July 2023. Continued through mid-October to define project scope and cost. Project scope expanded (ramada construction) and finalized costs. Project work began November 2024. Both parties aware of late Feb/early March 2024 deadline.
Creative refused to share plans with us based on a mistrust that we would subcontract out work.
3D department was “too busy,” to complete final renderings. We were encouraged to move forward.

Communication and Project Management
Promised weekly check-ins. Reduced to occasional phone calls. Told this would not affect overall project time frame.
Designer moved on to other projects, communication came to a halt. Meeting with Regional Supervisor to resume updates.
Permit delays with the city of Mesa due to incorrect welding specs; delayed our project by weeks.
Designer suddenly leaves the company and stops responding. No communication from company.
No dedicated project manager assigned to our account.
Construction Manager suddenly leaves company. No communication. Another 1 week delay.
Crews show up unscheduled. Disruptions to our work schedules.

Construction Issues/Professionalism
Damage to cinder block wall due to construction vehicle moving through the area.
Shot Crete crew shouting profanity in our backyard. Family in town and two small kids listening.
Delay in appliance installation.
Incorrect gas line installation for grill counter. Received appliance selections months in advance. 3 week delay.
Missing lights. Included in plan, but missed during construction. 1 week delay. Required additional demo, construction, and wasted material. No communication.
Decking around pool pathways too narrow based on the original design. Charged a $7,500 change order. Demanded payment for the change order before the project could continue. We paid within two days. Project sat for 3 weeks.
50% of decking required replacement.
Sharp stone edges on bar counter. Not sanded or joined properly.
Appliance installation incomplete. Parts left in boxes.
Entire job site was caked with dirt, mud, trash, boxes, and construction debris.
Additional decking left on driveway. Damage to vehicle.

Delays/Scheduling
No work would be done during the Christmas holiday. Crew shows up unannounced and work at 6am.
Pool tile complete in a few days. Project sat again 3 weeks.
Late February: Meeting set with Regional Supervisor to walk property, review the project delays, incomplete work, shoddy construction and attention to detail.
Supervisor agreed that the construction quality of work was not up to standards. Promised a reasonable schedule.
Revised schedule immediately off, delayed more than a month.
Completion date changed four times.
Project did not complete until June 2024.
Crews walked off job for poor communication. Construction Manager pleaded for them to stay.

Finances
No delays when it was time to collect a payment. Designer would drive to our house to collect a physical check.
Two installment payments made based on progress dates.
Months of delays, countless interruptions, overall poor project management, and substandard construction.
Settlement for discounted project fees. Financial strong-arming.
Creative claimed that all electronic records of project details destroyed based on system compromise.
Forced to sign promissory note to pay balance despite no delinquencies in payments.
CEO refused to return calls after project was finished to discuss final outcome.
Over $215,000 paid

Do not use this company.

We hired Creative back in 2021 to completely redo our backyard and pool and to replace the front drip lines and add a few plants to the front. If I were to grade them, the design is a solid A, hardscape installation a B+ (some tile cuts were sloppy), and landscaping installation a C. We are almost two years in and will say that the Customer Service gets an A+. They answer the phone and address all issues promptly. The largest being we recently noticed several plants had the old emitters, meaning the original crew did not replace all of the front drip lines. Creative replaced them to honor the original contract. I highly recommend Creative Environments - the design is great and customer service is fantastic.

Creative did our landscaping in our home as they were the company that our builder used. They are HORRIBLE!!! They use the cheapest materials!! They are super expensive yet their quality is horrendous. It’s been 4 years now and we have had so many leaks and things we’ve had to fix and now we have to REPLACE our entire irrigation system!!! We have spent thousands initially then thousands fixing every leak and issue the past four years and now will spend a ton to re-do the entire thing because it’s so bad and has such poor workmanship! Do NOT use this company!! Get multiple quotes and ask for reviews from people that are a couple years out from the work being done. These guys also don’t stand behind their work. Their warranty is a joke! They also did our fountains at our community entrance, which our HOA had to just pay thousands to re-do because of the shoddy work and cheap materials they used initially. Extremely disappointed in this company and Toll Brothers builder for using them!!

I recommend Creative Environments because they truly know the process for each season and exactly which fertilizers to apply, ensuring your lawn stays healthy year-round.

Warranty Department
Kiley and Jason are exceptional. Their communication and follow through has exceeded my expectations. Whenever I've called, Kiley gets me on the books in a reasonable time and is very knowledgeable about Creative's processes. I've been fortunate to have Jason as the field warranty rep. He's quick to rectify any issues and extremely knowledgeable about landscape construction. I trust his expertise. They have both been wonderful to work with.

For anyone considering they have had some challenges during COVID. They have caught up on our project and we are excited that most everything will be completed by our close date.

Do not use this company i have them for both pool and landscaping. My pool always has issues because they hire and dont train well not 1 person in 4 years has had any customer server skills. They leave trash/broken parts in my yard. They use my water hose and NEVER roll it back up they leave near the pool pump and they leave the gate open due to the hose being there the gate wont shut so they just leave it every week. When i get time ill be getting a new company

Creative environments just continues to disappoint. They’ve outgrown their good reputation years ago. Now they prioritize rich commercial clients and won’t give any attention to residential clients. Our two plants have died a month after planting and they seem to be okay with not replacing it.

Not only that but their field staff are probably the worst people I had met. One morning, I’m driving out of my garage and the guys pictured in the photo thought it was funny I was asian. The guy in the photo with his hands together, looked straight into my camera and said konichiwa and something else in Chinese.

For a person of color, I thought you would have some self-decency and not play into racism. But here you are being disappointing to humanity. To add insult to injury, their manager is doing NOTHING to stop them.

I’ve contacted creative about this and all the director says is “ill talk to my staff.” No follow up afterwards.

Oh but your PR managers are more than willing to flag my previous review to censor the injustice I evidenced in the previous review. Not only that, but they have their staff writing 5 star reviews. Just look up Mr. “Compositor,” who posted a recent 5 star review. Good grief.

I’ve now witnessed three of this company’s pickup trucks speeding straight through a 4-way stop sign in the Storyrock neighborhood in North Scottsdale, early in the morning on my way to work. On multiple occasions, they’ve nearly caused serious accidents with both pedestrians and drivers who had the right of way.

Fantastic design! Incredible workmanship! Beautiful water feature. Amazing. This is the exclamation point to our church campus. And Jason’s crew — artists!! They worked hard. Did everything with craftsmanship — leaving us with a beautiful landscaped water feature that our congregation will enjoy for years and years!!

After a bit of a rocky start, Dan, Jim, and Erik got directly involved and took over the project to make things right. The difference has been amazing and I can’t thank them enough for the great work and making things right.